Small-bore target rifle



Nov. 24, 1936. R. v v u Es 2,062,079-

SMALL BORE TARGET RIFLE Fil ed Feb. 25, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 24,1936. R. WILES SMALL BORE TARGET RIFLE ,r. w ,M H m w 4 e 2 W" W155; "=0,vwmu, W H mm M mm Wig;

f I!!! m E flmij. H===W|1I i NM mm mm mHW/%/ N Patented Nov. 24, 1936PATENT OFFICE SMALL-BORE TARGET RIFLE Russell Wiles, Chicago, Ill.,assignor to Winchester Repeating Arms 00., New Haven, Conn., acorporation of Maryland Application February 25, 1935, Serial No. 8,137

9 Claims.

This invention is a small-bore target rifle which is especially designedto meet the conditions of American matches in the most satisfactory way.

It is described in the following specification and illustrated in thedrawings, in which- Figure l is an elevation of the rifle; and Fig. 2 isa longitudinal section through the lock mechanism.

Referring to the drawings, I l is a barrel having 1 a chamber l2 toreceive a .22 calibre long rifle cartridge. Inasmuch as many of the mostimportant American matches are any sigh matches, the piece willfrequently be equipped with a conventional telescopic sight (not shown),

15 the line of sight being located as usual about 1.5" above borecenter. For metallic sight matches the sights will be located at thesame level so that the rifiemens shooting position can be the same inboth types of matches.

[3 is the comb of the stock which is shown substantially in line withthe bore so as to give a drop of about 1.5" from the normal line ofsight. For greatest steadiness in prone position, the drop should be 1to 1%". The comb may properly be located a little lower than isillustrated in order to permit a straight cleaning rod to clear thecomb.

The point of the comb is located as near the look as is compatible witha comfortable grip [4 of approved form. I5 is the trigger which islocated at an acceptable distance from the grip, about 3.5" from theforwardedge of the grip when the grip is curved as illustrated. Thisbrings the trigger about 4" longitudinally in front of the point of thecomb. The butt I6 is located atthe proper distance from the point of thecomb for the comb to support the face in prone position. This requiresfor a rather tall man a length from butt to point of comb of about 10.5"and from butt to trigger of about 14.5. In this type of prone stock, thelength of comb measured from the butt to the point of the comb isnormally approximately 70% or more of the butt length measured from buttplate to trigger.

The lock action is illustrated only in section, its parts being largelysimilar to the corresponding parts of the Winchester model 52 targetrifle. The significant mechanical modifications are described.

- The bolt assembly, including bolt l1, striker I8, bolt handle sleeveI!) with cooking cams 20 and the cocking piece 2| with cams 22, is madevery short so that it can be removed to the rear despite the very highcomb. The total length of the bolt 55 assembly must not exceed thedistance from the point of the comb to the rear of the receiver bridge23. To render so short a bolt practical, it is extended behind the boltsleeve to receive a main spring abutment pin 24, and the cocking piececams 22 are elongated to reach around this 5 bolt extension and engagethe bolt sleeve cams 20. The receiver 25 is made short to correspondwith the bolt, the shortening as compared with conventional locksoccurring in the bridge 23. The magazine well 26 is conventional and isadapted to receive a conventional long rifle cartridge magazine. Thetrigger l5, being located as above described, falls directly behind themagazine well and may conventionally be pivotally mounted thereon asillustrated. The sear 21 is provided with a tip 28 beveled on the rearto engage a corresponding face 29 on the striker and square on the frontto engage the rear face 30 on the loading lug 3| of the bolt which, byengagement with the sear, serves as a bolt stop.

The sear is pivoted to the rear of the receiver and extends forwardlyfrom its pivot, its upwardly extending lug 28 being positioned in thepath of the striker just behind the magazine well. The trigger l5 has atip 32 which engages the sear to support it. The depth of triggerengagement is adjusted by a screw 33 in the sear. The sear is of thetype which yields under pressure, except when supported by the trigger.Hence, by adopting a proper bevel on the sear and striker, the pressureon the engaging surfaces of the sear and trigger may be reduced asdesired.

To remove the bolt, the piece is snapped so that the striker depressesthe sear below the line of the loading lug. The trigger is then firmlypressed back to engage a screw 34 on a downwardly extending lug 35 onthe sear. The sear is thus held down by friction and the loading lug onthe bolt will clear. To replace the bolt, the sear is depressed, with atool or stick, and held down by back pressure on the trigger. Or theupward play of the sear may be so limited that the front of the boltwill strike the bevel of the sear and ride over it. Back lash of thetrigger may be practically eliminated by adjusting the screw 34. Thetrigger surface which engages the screw 34 is preferably cut on an arcconcentric with the sear pivot so that any movement of the sear whichmay occur after the trigger is squeezed off will not disturb thetrigger. This surface of the trigger may, however, be so cut that therise of the sear requires a slight forward motion of trigger. Thepresent arm combines the advantages of the bolt action in excellenthandling of cartridges in loading and of shells in extraction, theconvenience and general utility of the repeating mechanism and astockwell fitted for prone shooting with aconventional telescopic sightwhile preserving convenience of assembly and attaining easysingle'shotloading with the butt on the shoulder. .The foregoing desirableoperative fea- A tures have heretofore been quite incompatible;

'ndeedyno bolt action repeater has ever been available which iswhollypractical and comfortable when used with a telescopic sight in proneposition. 1 r 7 I The foregoing operative features are obtained ,byemployingthehigh comb and long. stock, the

bolt and receiver.

conventional grip and magazine well and the short The arrangementlocates the trigger very far. forward, 1 approximately of thelongitudinal distance from comb to chamber, whereas the triggerisusuallymuchfurther back. 'If the comb is tosupport the face as it should and ifthe grip is to be of conventional form in front of the comb, the chambermust be very close herein, and in thefollowing claims, I mean a rifle fsubstantially asdefinedin the rules of the National Rifle Association ofAmerica, i. e., one handling 1 1a small-bore cartridge which in turnisdefined as a rim fire cartridge containing a lead or lead alloy bulletweighing not over fortygrains and notover .223 in diameter, thecartridge having. an overall length not exceedingll' Unless the'ruleswhich are of very'long standing should be. materially changed, thepr'esent invention can'be usefully embodidin'n'o'other'type of weapon.The important operative feature of the cartridge cooperating with thepresent rifle is its overall length and I intend to include within myinvention rifles whose normalbolt throw in loading and ejecting is notsubstantially greater than that necessitated by la cartridge of. thislength.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

A' bolt actionrepeating small-bore target 'rifle having a stock with acomb of a length to sup- 'port'the face in'conven'tional prone position,the

point of thecomb being higher than the lower line of the bolt and havingits receiver bolt assembly and comb co-ordinated to permit rearwardremoval of the bolt-assembly in the space in front of the point of thecomb.

2. A rifle according to claim 1, having a trigger located substantiallycloser to the chamber than to the point of the comb.

3. A bolt action repeating small-bore target rifle having a stock with acomb, the point of the comb being higher than the lower line of the boltand the length of the comb being approximately 70% or more of the buttlength, the receiver and bolt assembly being so co-ordinated to the combthat the bolt assembly is removable rearv/ardly in the spacelongitudinally ahead of the point of the comb.

4. A rifle according to claim 3, in which the longitudinal distance fromtrigger to chamber is less than the longitudinal distance from the pointof the comb to the trigger.

5. A repeating small-bore rifle of the bolt action type including achambered barrel, a bolt assembly with striker, a receiver having aportion overhanging the bolt to guide the same, a magazine well, a sear,a trigger, and. a stock with butt, comb and grip, the point of the combof the stock being higher than the lower line of the bolt assembly andthe length of the comb being approximately 70% or more of the buttlength, the bolt assembly being not materially longer than the spacebetween the point of the comb and the bolt-overhanging part of thereceiver, whereby the bolt can be removed rearwardly withoutinterference by the comb.

6. A repeating rifle of the bolt action type including a chamberedbarrel, a bolt assembly with striker, a receiver having a portionoverhanging the bolt to guide the same, a magazine well, a sear, atrigger, and a stock with butt, comb and grip, the point of the comb ofthe stock being higher than the lower line of the bolt assembly and thelength of the comb being approximately 70% or more of the butt length,the bolt assembly being not materially longer than the space between thepoint of the comb and the bolt-overhanging part of the receiver, wherebythe bolt can be removed rearwardly without interference by the comb, andthe trigger being directly behind the magazine well, the longitudinaldistance from the point of the comb to the trigger being in the order ofof the longitudinal distance from the point of the comb to the chamber.

7.. The rifle of claim 6, in which the trigger pivot is supported by themagazine well.

8. The rifle of claim 6, in which the striker-engaging point of the searis located immediately behind the magazine well.

9. The rifle of claim 6, in which the striker engaging point of the searis located immediately behind the magazine well and the sear-engagingpart of the trigger is also immediately behind the magazine well.

RUSSELL WILES.

